Mangalyaan, Selfie-Stick In Top 25 Inventions of 2014 List By Times Magazine

Time Magazine has announced its yearly list of top 25 inventions of 2014 which redefined the world in their own unique way, and India’s Mangalyaan has been featured at #2 position in that list.

Describing India’s first Mars mission, Time Magazine said, “Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The U.S. didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on Sept.24, India did.”

The Western world is already in awe with India’s Mars project, whose total expenditure of $74 million is less than the budget of the movie Gravity. US Government’s NASA had spent $671 million to send Maven to Mars.

Apple Watch, which is scheduled to be launched in 2015 has made its entry in the list based on the unique combination of touch screen and physical buttons. Besides performing all the basic activities of a watch, Apple Watch can also “send messages, give directions, track fitness and make wireless payments.”

The magazine also noted that Apple has not created a gadget this time, bit a tech-enabled designer watch, with 18 karat Gold and maximum attention to the aesthetic details of the accessories, something which no other technology oriented smart watch manufacturer has ever done.

Selfie-stick, which enables its users to position their smartphone at an angle which is way more than their arms reach for taking better selfies has also been featured in this list of innovations. Time Magazine tells that if 2013 was the year when selfie became a buzz word, then 2014 was the year when it turned into a culture phenomenon, adding, “.. a recent Pew report, which found that at least a quarter of Americans have shared a selfie on a social-networking site (including Ellen Degeneres, Kim Kardashian and President Obama).”

The top ranked invention of 2014 which has surprised everyone is: Hoverboard. It is a type of skateboard, which levitates like a ‘magic carpet’: a fantasy of innovators ever since human beings learnt to fly. The project has received $450,000+ funding via Kickstarter, and the possibilities look awesome.

Other notable inventions include:

Wireless Electricity – Witricity, which works on a magnetic coil which can charge a gadget even without any wire connection. Working on the principle of wireless electromagnetic waves, this technology has been found effective to charge objects which are placed upto 8 feet away. Toyota electric cars (with charging mats), Intel PCs (with charging pads) and more devices have been tested with this new, totally unbelievable technology.

BlackPhone – A new startup which manufacture privacy protected smartphones which cannot track anything; BMW’s new electric car; Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet (which can replace a laptop); A special ring which can notify your email and text messages alert; Bananas which can prevent blindness; a seamless sign language translator and more.

Other Top inventions of 2014 include

High-beta fusion reactor developed by Lockheed Martin

3-D-Printed Everything

Blackphone

Coolest Cooler

The Chip that Stops Your Slouching

The Car that Makes Electric Enticing

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

The Ring that Alerts You in Style

The Pillbox that Gets Personal

Bananas that Prevent Blindness

The Wheel that Gives Bikers a Boost

The Seamless Sign-Language Translator

The Filter that Fights Ebola

The AC that Lowers Your Energy Bills

The Prison Room that Helps Inmates Relax

The Tablet Toy that Gets Physical

The Coaching Basketball

Wrappers You Can Eat

Screens that Showcase Digital Art

You can details of all of them in Time Magazine’s Top 25 Inventions list right here.

Mohul keenly observes the nuances of Indian startup world; and tries to demystify the secrets behind Technology, Marketing, Mobile and Internet. He is a Writer by passion, Marketer by choice and Entrepreneur by compulsion. Follow him on Twitter here: @_mohul